Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes, or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
  • B65D75/38—Articles or materials enclosed in two or more wrappers disposed one inside the other
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
  • B65D77/04—Articles or materials enclosed in two or more containers disposed one within another
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B2307/00—Properties of the layers or laminate
  • B32B2307/70—Other properties
  • B32B2307/716—Degradable
  • B32B2307/7163—Biodegradable
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B27/00—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin
  • B32B27/06—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material
  • B32B27/10—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material of paper or cardboard
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D65/00—Wrappers or flexible covers; Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/38—Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/46—Applications of disintegrable, dissolvable or edible materials
  • B65D65/466—Bio- or photodegradable packaging materials
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
  • B65D81/18—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient
  • B65D81/20—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
  • B65D81/2069—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas in a special atmosphere
  • B65D81/2084—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas in a special atmosphere in a flexible container
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
  • Y02W90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
  • Y02W90/10—Bio-packaging, e.g. packing containers made from renewable resources or bio-plastics

Definitions

• the present invention relates to littering caused by single-serve sachets and stick packs. It also relates to the packaging of oxidable products such as vitamin A.
• compositions comprising vitamins often require extensive packaging. This is particularly true for extrudates comprising vitamin A. Vitamin A is sensitive to oxygen.
• Extrudates comprising vitamins and minerals may be given to people suffering from micronutrient deficiency.
• Micronutrient deficiency is also referred to as “hidden hunger”.
• extrudates typically have a particle size from 205 pm to 1000 pm. Thus, they are too small to be packaged in blisters. Bottles aren’t an option either.
• Single-serve sachets with aluminum layers have good storage stability and thus, sufficiently long shelf-life. However, they also have significant disadvantages. Single-serve sachets are more expensive compared to a larger size package and, most importantly, they keep growing the world’s waste mountain. Waste issues triggered by single-serve products (such as single-serve coffee containers) are being widely discussed. There is an urgent need to fight hidden hunger in a more sustainable, ecological manner.
• Waste management by composting is discussed in a“STUDY ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR AFRICA” (2002), prepared for the African Development Bank, Sustainable Development & Poverty Reduction Unit, Abidjan, prepared by Richard J. Palczynski, Canada.
• US 2010/0272868 discloses a multi-chambered food container to separate drugs that may adversely interact with each other during storage.
• EP 0 442 659 B1 discloses a package whose inner bag is ruptured by application of an external pressure only with fingers.
• EP 0 719 715 B1 discloses a double package whose inner container has a water vapor permeability of 44g/m 2 . Summary of the invention
• the problem to be solved by the present invention is reducing the impact of littering caused by single-serve bags (also referred to as“sachets”) containing at least one oxidable product.
• a more specific problem to be solved is reducing waste when packaging extrudates comprising a daily portion of an oxidable vitamin.
• Extrudates comprising oxidable vitamins may be used to fight hidden hunger in sub-Saharan Africa.
• a problem also underlying the present invention is reducing waste and the effects of littering in sub-Saharan Africa when fighting hidden hunger.
• the present invention discloses two synergistically interacting approaches:
• Vitamin A products packaged in biodegradable or compostable packaging material have an insufficient shelf-life. This is particularly true for climate zone III, IVa or IVb storage stability (of. current definition of ICH stability zones for stability studies). This is a particular challenge as there is a big demand for vitamin A containing products in sub-Saharan countries: to fight micronutrient deficiency, hundreds of even thousands of single-serve bags are given to African school children every day. So far, it has been impossible to manufacture biodegradable or compostable single-serve bags that have a sufficient shelf-life in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Said product comprises or consists of an outer bag having a plurality of inner bags sealed therein, wherein said inner bags are made of bio- degradable and/or compostable packaging material and wherein said inner bags enclose at least one oxidable compound (“bags-in-bag packaging system”).
• the inner bags comprise highly concentrated extrudates, i.e. extrudates with a reduced volume.
• the bags-in-bag packaging system of the present invention provides for excellent storage stability even though the inner, degradable and/or compostable bags may have a certain permeability to water and oxygen. The latter is acceptable because most of the inner bags are distributed and consumed within 1 day.
• the teacher of an African village school opens the outer bag and distributes the inner bags to the children of his school.
• the children then consume the content of the inner bag on the same day, either at home or at school. Consumption at school typically takes place where the school offers free lunch to the children.
• the school reuses the outer bag or takes care of proper disposal of the outer bag, some of the inner bags may be thrown on a dirt road or somewhere else. This kind of littering, however, is no longer an issue because the inner bag is made of biodegradable or compostable packaging material. Microorganisms make biodegradable or compostable bags disappear within a reasonable time.
• the present invention relates to bags made of biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material.
• the term“bag” refers to a flexible container, such as a foil bag. Said foil may be a flexible laminate. At the top, the bag of the invention has an opening which is sealed. Different kinds of seal might be used.
• a reusable zip lock is used.
• the bag is a heat sealable bag.
• Any commercially available biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material may be used.
• Preferred biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material comprises modified or unmodified polylactic acid (PLA). Particularly preferred is paper coated with PLA. Also preferred are starch-based
• biodegradable films comprising a modified polylactic acid. Such a film is disclosed in CN107417982.
• Biodegradation is a biochemically induced process.
• packaging material is“biodegradable” when at least 80 weight-%, preferably at least 85 weight-% and most preferably at least 90 weight-% of the packaging material (based on the total weight of the packaging material) can be metabolized with the help of microorganisms into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass.
• the term“compostable” relates to packaging material that meets the requirements of the European standard EN 13432“Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation”.
• biodegradable and compostable packaging materials have a certain permeability to water and/or oxygen. Therefore, shelf-life of oxidable compounds is insufficient when packaged with biodegradable or compostable packaging material.
• Aluminum foil is impermeable to water and oxygen, but it is neither biodegradable nor compostable.
• the term“oxidable compound” refers to a preferably edible compound which can no longer be sold to a consumer (due to oxidative changes in its color, taste, texture and/or nutritional value) after having been exposed to air for 24 hours at 20°C and 50% relative humidity.
• the term“oxidable compound” refers to an edible compound such as an oxidable vitamin.
• the term“oxidable compound” refers to vitamin A or a derivative of vitamin A such as a vitamin A ester.
• the term“oxidable compound” refers to vitamin A palmitate.
• biodegradable and compostable packaging materials can be overcome by providing a product that comprises or consists of an outer bag having a plurality of (i.e. at least two) inner bags sealed therein, wherein said inner bags are made of biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material and wherein each of said inner bags has at least one oxidable compound sealed therein.
• the present invention relates to a“bags-in-bag packaging system”, wherein the outer bag comprises at least two inner bags. Said inner bags are detached from the outer bag such that one or multiple inner bags can be taken out of the opened outer bag without using a knife or any other kind of instrument.
• the outer bag comprises a plurality of inner bags. The more inner bags are sealed in the outer bag, the more sustainable the packaging solution is (cf.
• the outer bag according to the present invention comprises at least 10, preferably at least 50 inner bags and/or the ratio between the weight of the empty outer bag and the total weight of the empty inner bags is less than 2:1 and is preferably from 1 :1 to 1 :50.
• “Sealed” as used in the context of the present invention means that the packaging material of the outer bag is joined together to form a closed container so as to prevent liquid water from passing through the seal into the bag and vice versa.
• “sealed” means“hermetically sealed”.“Hermetically sealed” means any type of sealing that makes the seal airtight, excluding passage of air through the seal into the bag and vice versa.
• a preferred embodiment of the invention relates to an outer bag having a plurality of inner bags hermetically sealed therein, wherein said inner bags are made of biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material, and wherein each of said inner bags has at least one oxidable compound hermetically sealed therein.
• the packaging system of the present invention allows to store an oxidable compound for many months or years, even in climate zones III, IVa and/or IVb. This is surprising if one considers that a large part of the packaging system is biodegradable and/or compostable.
• the atmosphere within the sealed outer bag also referred to as headspace atmosphere
• the atmosphere within the sealed outer bag comprises less than 10 vol.-% oxygen, preferably less than 5 vol.-% oxygen, more preferably less than 1 vol.-% oxygen and most preferably less than 0.1 vol.- % oxygen.
• MAP modified atmosphere packaging
• a mobile headspace gas analyzer such as
• OXYBABY® 6.0 02 (commercially available at wittgas.com) can be used.
• MAP can be achieved by a method comprising the steps:
• the outer bag can be purged with a protective gas before and/or after filling the inner bags into the outer bag.
• the outer bag is purged with a protective gas after having filled the inner bags into the outer bag.
• protective gas is replaced by vacuum.
• the method comprises the steps:
• FIGURE 1 shows schematically an example of the present invention.
• Outer bag (1 ) comprises eight inner bags (2).
• Each of the inner bags (2) encloses two extrudates (3), each of said extrudates comprising at least one oxidable compound (not shown in FIGURE 1 ).
• Outer bag (1 ) encloses inner bags (2) and a protective gas (5) such as nitrogen. This also applies to the plurality of inner bags: each inner bag (2) encloses extrudates (3) and protective gas (4), such as nitrogen.
• Inner bags (2) are made of biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material.
• Outer bag (1 ) may be reusable, recycle or resealable.
• the outer bag is made of packaging material which has a low oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and/or a low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR).
• OTR oxygen transmission rate
• WVTR water vapor transmission rate
• said packaging material has both, a low OTR and a low WVTR.
• the outer bag is made of packaging material having the status“total barrier”.
• Packaging material having the status of“total barrier” is completely impermeable to water and oxygen.
• An example of such a material is aluminum foil (if free of pinholes).
• any material performing as good as or better than pinhole free aluminum foil when applying the“Whole bag method for determining oxygen transmission rate” can be used (Moyls, A.L., Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, January 2004, 47(1 ): 159-164) is considered as having that status“total barrier”.
• the outer bag of the invention is made of packaging material having an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of less than 1 , preferably less than 0.5 cm 3 /cm 2 for 24 hours at 23°C and 0% relative humidity (RH; dry conditions) and/or having a water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of less than 1 , preferably less than 0.5 g/m 2 for 24 hours at 38°C and 90% relative humidity.
• OTR oxygen transmission rate
• WVTR water vapor transmission rate
• Oxygen permeability testing is preferably made in accordance with ASTM D-3985 e.g. by using MOCON OX-TRAN 2/21 equipment.
• Water vapor transmission rate testing is preferably made in accordance with ASTM F1249 e.g. by using MOCON PERMATRANW 3/33.
• the outer bag can be disposed.
• the outer bag is reusable, recyclable, and/or resealable.
• the outer bag is manually resealable or is resealable by using a portable sealing machine.
• the present invention also relates to an intermediate product, i.e. to bags made of biodegradable and/or compostable packaging material, wherein each of said bags encloses at least one oxidable compound such as vitamin A or an ester of vitamin A.
• the finished product i.e. the bags-in-bag packaging system of the invention
• the finished product comprises a plurality of these bags. Therefore, these bags are also referred to as “inner bags”.
• each of said inner bags encloses multiple extrudates. In one embodiment, each of said inner bags encloses more than 200 extrudates, wherein each extrudate has a particle size from 205 pm to 1000 pm (measured by sieving).
• the composition of each extrudate might be identical.
• each of said inner bags encloses different kind of extrudates.
• One kind of extrudate may comprise fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamin A) whereas another kind of extrudates may comprise water-soluble vitamins.
• a yet other kind of extrudate may comprise minerals.
• each of said inner bags contains the recommended daily intake (RDI) of at least three, preferably at least five vitamins, and/or of at least three, preferably at least five minerals.
• RDI recommended daily intake
• the“recommended daily intake (RDI)” is the RDI for infants, children or adults according to the dietary guidelines by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. From time to time, said guidelines are being updated. In the context of the present invention, the version which was in force on January 1 , 2018 is meant.
• the present invention also relates to a plurality of bags, wherein each bag contains at least 80% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of
• RDI recommended daily intake
• D3, riboflavin, folic acid, C, niacinamide, B12, thiamine vitamins, iron, copper, calcium, zinc and selenium have a volume of up to 10 cm 3 .
• extrudates containing the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamins A, E, D3, riboflavin, folic acid, C, niacinamide, B12, thiamine vitamins, iron, copper, calcium, zinc and selenium have a volume of less than 1 cm 3 . This volume reduction allows to reduce the amount of packaging by at least 50% (of. example).
• RDI recommended daily intake
• Such extrudates can be manufactured as disclosed in WO
• the present invention also relates to a plurality of bags, wherein each of said bags encloses multiple extrudates, and wherein 2.7 g of said extrudates have a volume of less than 10 cm 3 , preferably of less than 5 cm 3 .
• Comparable products currently available on the market contain approx. 8 g powder.
• Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of several 3D samples were evaluated by the Standard Test Method ASTM D3985 at 23°C and 0% RH (dry conditions).
• the 3D samples were mounted on a sample holder specific for 3D samples. After a conditioning step of 24 hours, the measurement phase took place at a carrier gas flux of 70 mL/min (low conditioning).
• an outer bag having an oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) of less than 0.5 cm 3 / cm 2 was chosen (supplier A. Hatzopoulos, S.A. Greece).
• OTR oxygen Transmission Rate
• compositions comprising oxidable vitamin A were packed in various biodegradable and/or compostable bags (commercially available).
• MAP Modified Atmosphere Packaging
• the oxidable compounds are packed in biodegradable and/or compostable bags (preferably MAP). Multiple of said biodegradable and/or compostable bags are then packed into an outer bag having an oxygen
• ORR Transmission Rate
• Example 2 (optimization of inner bag) The volume of daily portion of commercially available MixMe® (supplier: DSM Nutritional Products) has been measured.
• MixMe® is a conventional
• micronutrient powder i.e. no extrudates.
• the volume of daily portion of an improved version of MixMe® has been measured.
• Said daily portion comprises the same amount of micronutrients as in the daily portion of commercially available MixMe®.
• extrudates can be manufactured as disclosed in WO 2017/060320.
• the surface-to-volume ratio depends on the shape of the packaging (cube, sphere, cone etc.)
• a lower surface-to-volume ratio means that packaging is more efficient: it takes less packaging material to hold just as much stuff. Thus, the measured volume reduction of 6 times led up to 83% less packaging.
• the inner bags of the invention are made of
• biodegradable packaging material whereas the outer bag’s packaging material typically contains an aluminum layer to reach the status“total barrier”. Littering of biodegradable packaging material is doing less damage than littering of
• Aluminum is not degrading over time.
• the ratio between the weight of the empty outer bag and the total weight of the empty inner bags should be as small as possible.
• Example 3 shows that harmful littering can be reduced when more inner (biodegradable) bags are put into the outer (non-biodegradable) bag.
• the inner bags must be small. Smaller bags are achievable when the composition to be packaged requires less volume. Less volume can be achieved by manufacturing extrudates instead of powders (of. example 2).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Bag Frames (AREA)
• Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
• Wrappers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=61683670

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (26)

• 2019
  • 2019-03-14 WO PCT/EP2019/056441 patent/WO2019175322A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2019-03-14 CN CN201980018647.8A patent/CN111836762A/zh active Pending
  • 2019-03-14 US US16/977,301 patent/US20200407137A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2019-03-14 EP EP19711338.4A patent/EP3765378A1/de active Pending
  • 2019-03-14 JP JP2020544606A patent/JP7396559B2/ja active Active

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events